May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month

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May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month.  Know your risk factors, be able to identify symptoms, and get tips to reduce your risk.

Who Is Most At Risk?

Women or Men who:

  • Spend time in the sun or use sun lamps or tanning booths
  • Smoke
  • Have blond, red or light brown hair and blue, gray or green eyes
  • Have fair skin, freckles or skin that burns easily
  • Have personal or family histories of skin cancer Have human papillomavirus (HPV)
  • Had sunburns as children
  • Have certain types of genetic problems that affect the skin
  • Have been treated with radiation
  • Have weakened immune systems
  • Have odd moles or one or more large colored spots on the skin
  • Have had contact with certain chemicals, such as arsenic in the drinking water
  • Have skin damage from lone-term inflammation

 

Symptoms:

  • A sore throat that does not heal
  • A mole or other skin growth you have more noticed before
  • A change in the border of a spot, spread of color, redness or swelling around the area
  • A small, smooth, shiny, pale or waxy lump that may bleed
  • Large areas with oozing or crust
  • A flat red spot or lump that is scaly or crusty
  • Itchiness, tenderness or pain from a mole or elsewhere on your skin
  • A brown or black colored spot with uneven edges
  • Men are more likely than women to get non-melanoma skin cancer

 

Reduce Your Risk

  • Avoid sun exposure, especially between 10a.m. & 4p.m., when sunlight is strongest
  • Always use sunscreen SPF 30 or higher with UVA & UVB protection. Reapply every two hours if you stay in the sun, even on cloudy days
  • Protect children from the sun
  • Wear protective clothing, headwear and eyewear when possible
  • Never use tanning beds or sunlamps
  • Always use lip balm with SPF 30 or higher with UVA & UVB protection
  • Examine your skin once a month. Tell your health care professional about skin changes
  • It is a good idea to have your health care professional examine your skin annually

Please contact Althea Moser at amoser@highlands.edu for further information. This wellness initiative is courtesy of the Dept. of Kinesiology and Wellness, the Faculty Grant Scholarship, & the Prevent Cancer Foundation©  www.preventcancer.org